When Skyrim Jokes Go Too Far

There are a lot of funny moments found within 200 hours or so of Skyrim, and I’m not sure why it is that the guard who says, “I used to be an adventurer, but then I took an arrow to the knee” is the one people walked away with.

Somehow it became an internet sensation, and then morphed into a plague, populating top YouTube comments and Facebook statuses everywhere, even by people who had no idea what a “Skyrim” was.

And now the joke is officially dead as someone has gotten it tattooed on their body as seen above. When a meme gets a tattoo or an awful parody video, you know it’s over. This one now has both.

About The Author

Paul

I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point.

George

People have latched onto it because apparently EVERY guard in the whole of Skyrim has had a horrible knee related injury.

Bad Acid

🙁 this bothers me because an arrow to the knee would be much more effective from behind at permanently crippling someone.

Also, the fad will fade, but hopefully the line sticks around as a sort of “that’s what she said” or “and then I found 20 dollars” replacement.

Ray Bacon

What really bothers me is that the guards I have run into say “then I took an arrow IN the knee” not “to the knee”.

trashcanman

inb4 “someone stole my sweetroll” tramp stamp.

>_>

I used to think this joke was old
then I took an arrow to the knee

Jim Lahey

@Ray Bacon

pedantic much?

Drester

Can’t believe I didn’t get this joke before it got old.

Ricky

FUCK OFF, LAHEY

Buttery Mess

I swear one of them once said to me that they used to be an adventurer until they took an arrow in the face.

Pip

That’s actually a cool tattoo though

Mouserz

I used to like this joke, then she got a “arrow in the knee” tattoo on her knee.

Wade Wilson’s yellow box

Well they always say ‘in the knee,’ but I guess someone took some artistic liberty and changed it so it would sound more humorous. And there is one man, in the city where Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak is (right now, I can’t recall the name of the city), I believe the mans name is Argnar Once-Honored, he says he took a sword right through the chest.

Erica LePage

The phrase means that the individual got married. Taking an arrow in the knee is referencing getting down on one knee and proposing. Therefore the guards used to be adventurers but they have somebody they care about so they chose to just be terrible guards instead; guards who are easy to bribe and tend to die fighting dragons…